Hi! Normally I don't post off topic but after seeing all the help on that feral kitty I thought maybe someone has gone through this?

My gorgeous cat Toisie is really going through some bad stuff. She can't stop coughing or trying to cough up hairballs that won't come up. This was going on in the spring also and when I took her to the vet he just laughed and said "You woldn't believe all the cats that are being brought in right now, it's the season." So he told me to give her more than the recommended dosage of that Petromalt stuff and brush her more which I did. That passed but now it's happening again but much worse. She's coughing/choking all the time, I can't touch her without her starting to cough again. I give her vaseline when it seems like she won't stop which helps a little.

She's got a LOT of fur, a long hair of course. Is there ANYTHING else I can do to help her get this hair out? She just turned 11 this year and the vet's assistant said it's just harder for them to cough hairballs out when they're older. I hate the helpless position I'm in.
I hope it's not her lungs instead of hairballs also.